starts now. ♪ host: good morning. it is sunday, september 1, 2024. candidates on the campaign trail are courting the labor vote. the number of americans in labor unions has been declining for decades, but they are a significant voting block in some key swing states. we want to know your view of labor unions. if you view them positively, (202) 748-8000. negatively, (202) 748-8001. if you are a union member, (202) 748-8002. if you would like to text us, that number is (202) 748-8003. please be sure to include your name and where you are writing in from. on social media, we are at facebook.com/cspan and on x at

@cspanwj. let's start with a few numrs about labor unions in america. 55% say labor unions have a positive impact on the country, according to a pew poll. 41% say they have a negative impact. when you break down view by party, 35% of republicans say that labor unions have a positive impact on the country. 61% say they have a negative impact. 75% of democrats say labor unions have a positive impact versus 23% saying negative. in terms of the overall portion of americans who are in labor unions, that differs significantly the penny on where you live. in particular, swing states have a high share of workers who are union members. pennsylvania with 12.9%, issue

again with 12.8%, nevada with 12.4 percent. wisconsin, 7.4%. arizona, 4.2%. north carolina, two point seven percent, according to the bureau of labor statistics. as i mentioned in the beginning, shares of americans in labor unions has been in decline. here is a story about that from january of this year. u.s. union membership rates hit a record low in 2023, according to the labor department. u.s. union membership rates fell to that record low despite it being a year of headline grabbing organized labor strikes from the rust belt to hollywood and continued organizing successes at companies such as starbucks. the union membership rate fell to 10% from what has been a record low 10.1% in 2022, the labor department said.

it also showed growth in union membership among people of color and a narrowing pay advantage for union workers. if you look at the -- how americans view that decline in union membership, few have -- pew has more research on that, with the majority seeing that decline in union membership as bad for the united states and working people. 54% of u.s. adults say the decline has been bad for the country -- bad for working people. 54% say it was bad for the country. earlier this week, the head of the afl-cio gave her annual labor day speech. we have a clip of that here. [video clip] >> we are the ones who are going to decide this election. in these swing states, like

pennsylvania that are going to come down to 1%, 2%, union voters are 20% of the electorate. one in every five voters. think about that. second, our workers are powerful because they have something that is rare today. what that is his trust. they have the trust of those around them and they are credible political messengers. they can connect with each other and people in their communities in a way that no one else can. so raise your hand if you have felt it is just hard to have a conversation these days about politics, especially with someone you disagree with. raise your hand if you have felt that. pretty much every hand in the room. the minute someone figures out what team you play for and then

you get tuned out. maybe sometimes we have done that to someone else. yet here we are in a room full of union members but we do not see that playing out because when you ask a union member who their most trusted source is in the world on politics, it is not their friends. it is not their family. or their loved ones. it is their fellow union members. i think that is a fascinating data point. host: for more information about the decline in union membership we have seen in united states, let's go back to this chart about the number of unionized workers which peaked in the 1970's and has fallen steadily sense. in the early 1980's, about two thirds of union jobs were in the private sector, which you can see here by this light pink line. that has fallen to a 50-50 split

with the government sector, which was the orange line here. this is the overall trend of union membership, which they started breaking apart by public and private sector around here. let's go to your calls again. the numbers for how you view labor unions. if you view them positively, (202) 748-8000. negatively, (202) 748-8001. if you are a union member yourself, you can call us at (202) 748-8002. let's go to willie in north carolina, who views unions as negative. caller: good morning. first, take it in context. where unions are today. can you hear me? host: i can hear you. caller: where unions are today, i see it in a negative context. you have to look at the reasons for the decline over the last 50 years.

the outsourcing of products. host: are you saying you view unions negatively or the state of unions, the fact unions are in decline negatively? caller: kind of both, if i can have it both ways, being a man of caller. historically, you notice the decline in people of color was what it was. i am saying i think unions today are negative. they cannot last. they decline has to do with the fact we live in a capitalist country and there has been so much socialist policy they cannot coexist as long as you

have nafta and the outsourcing of jobs and we actually stop producing. when the lady said there is no such thing as a man scrubbers is a woman's job, i think when people say black jobs versus hispanic jobs, i think those are stereotypes. i do not think -- i think statements like that are made, they have to do with the community that immigrants are migrating to and those are communities or people of color have historically resided. lower income, that is where they are going to go. when those jobs in those communities are taken, people will say they are taking our jobs. that is a perception, maybe not realistic. what happens with unions is unions are going to demand a regulated price -- pay scale.

these things hurt competition. as the competition is being hurt and jobs are shipped overseas and nothing is produced here, the unions are going to decline in numbers and in power. host: let's go to paul in houston, texas, who was a union member himself. caller: thank you for taking my call. i think they union has a positive effect on the country and the members. my retirement was saved by the harris-biden ticket. they passed a bill. i'm a teamster. they passed a bill that save my pension. and i am forever grateful for that. what i just heard did not make a bit of sense to me, so i think

unions are very good. you get a seat at the table. they negotiate your wages and wait -- and working conditions and safety. any union member that votes to me is ludicrous. host: you said any union member who votes democratic is what? caller: who votes republican, sorry. host: speaking of support for the presidential candidates, cbs poll shows right now the support for harris is at about 58% versus for trump at about 41% and there is more reporting on that from cbs news saying that harris is girded for battle with trump over union workers and labor bosses. this is talking about an appearance at the democratic

national convention and mentions while he invoked the labor bosses of an earlier era behind that was a state-of-the-art, tech savvy campaign machine poised to capitalize on the moment. before long, the digital soldiers of the harris team, along with uaw, garnering millions of use. bright red shirts have been sold and the word scab was trending online, referencing the speaker calling donald trump a scab. again, that a support now for harris among members of labor unions at about 50% versus trump at about 41%. let's hear from rob in new york city, who views unions positively. good morning, rob. caller: thank you for c-span. trump is a scab. when you are in a union, you are

treated with respect. if you are not in a union, you can be vulnerable. unions give workers some power. to not be crushed by a manager or boss. you are talking about business here, so our former president come up trump, had declared bankruptcy five times. i wish c-span would do a segment on his bankruptcies because when rich people declare bankruptcies , especially when it comes to real estate holdings, they often have these no recourse loans on the properties. most average people understand no recourse to comes to the car they may have financed come but they do not realize that a slick

businessman can walk into a bank and sign up for -- on a corporation on a limited liability and get a nonrecourse loan for hundreds of millions and then not pay, screw the creditors, and when you have this former president uber tends to be this big, smart businessman, the rich people go belly up. sometimes they go into properties knowing they are going to get a no recourse loan, not pay it, and profit is going to come from screwing the banks and alternately the taxpayer. i wish c-span would do a segment on that. thank you again for c-span. host: jim is in florida and

views unions negatively. caller: i had an experience with the union that was terrible. i was working for car dealerships and one dealership i was working at brought in a union. and of course i am one of the technicians and i got out voted and we ended up in a union. the first thing that can happen when you go to these union drives where they try to get everybody to sign up and sign a union card, the union is allowed to lie completely about what they are going to do for the people. those people turn around and they sign the cards because cut like we were told, they were going to give us industry rate, everything driven by the people that manufacture the cars like in detroit and now in japan and all the other places. those guys set the industry rate. they put a bolt in and the car goes by them. i work on the car and i can fix

anything on the car that i have to get pay the same amount of money as they make. in a car dealership back then you were not making the money the industry was paying the guys on the assembly line, so we were told you will get industry rate. unions come in and then they come back to us and go, we looked at the books and the owner cannot afford to pay industry rate so we will get you this much money. so it ended up that we signed up with this union and it was the first month's pay when you got your paycheck, it was an increase of $22 and 14 of it went to our dues, so i got a big eight dollar raise and then it was like three months later we got another eight dollars and another eight dollars. we never got the industry rate before i left. i quit. when i quit, my wife was pregnant with our second child. i went to another dealership a

couple miles away and went to work. about six weeks later, after i am there, the union guys show up at the store next door which is owned by the same people and come over and tell me that they want me to help them get into the union -- get the union into the shop next door that is owned by the people i work for. and they told me literally your baby is going to be paid for by our insurance plan. if you help us, we will get it taken care of. if you do not commit you may have a problem. i did everything i could to keep that dealership from becoming a union shop. and it cost me because they never paid a penny on the baby's bills. the money was gone. i think unions are a bunch of scams. they tell you they are going to do things for you and the national labor relations board lets them get away with it but the people that work for the dealerships cannot talk to technicians or people that are

going to try to bring unions in. host: we want to get other folks as well. jim is in florida, considered a right to work state. here's the definition from the national council on state legislatures. in short, the phrase right to work refers to an employee's ability to work for an employer without joining a union or paying agency fees for representation. the key point is the difference between union membership and union representation. employees who are members of union pay dues to the union, can vote in leadership elections, and are represented by the union in contract negotiations and workplace disputes. not all employees represented by a union are necessarily members or pay dues. contract negotiations and legal representation in workplace disputes are often costly. to recover the cost of

representing nonmembers, some states allow private sector unions to charge nonmembers a fee cut usually called an agency or shop fee. places that prohibit requirements allow employees to work in a unionized workplace without financially supporting the union, essentially granting them the right to work. if you look at the national right to work legal defense foundation, they have states that have right to work laws. florida is one of them. let's now go to aaron in baltimore, maryland, who is a union member. caller: good morning. everything is great in212 -- in 2128. i see a lot of people shopping and enjoying their lives. a lot of these people look like

people that you don't normally associate with. america, unions keep things steady, growing, strong. i know one thing. people work. people spend their money on their lives. they want to make money. host: joseph is in massachusetts and has a positive view of unions. caller: good morning. i came to favor unions. i think it is a good thing. 40 years ago, 25% of the american work was unionized. the union went down when reagan fired the airport workers.

i worked with southeast airlines , which was striking. i did not realize the importance of unions until i was in university. i worked for grocery suppliers as a security guard and they had a day to vote for union or no union. i tried to tell about the right to work laws in texas and georgia. i realize the importance of unions. we have had 400 drivers in houston, texas. i said vote for the union. there are people ready to assist them. they say do not work for the union. unions take jobs. i said, no. the union is for the common man.

they voted against the union. the vote took 241 votes against the union and 43 votes for the union come around that. but a month or two months later, they fired most of the drivers. they either subcontract the trucks to grocery supply or get your own rig. they are working long hours, 16, 18 hours some times a day. what i'm saying is unions are a good thing. you used to be able to work one job and take care of your whole family in the 1960's. i came to the conclusion america needs to bring the union back if we want to go forward. thank you. have a nice day. host: sonya has positive views of unions, citing unions for child labor laws, safety,

fairness, and more. there is story in the washington examiner about democrats leaning on labored leaders to beat back a union shift to trump, saying that democrats are working to keep a critical voting block in their camp come november and increasingly relying on union members for help. former president donald trump is hoping to build on gains he made with rank-and-file members of organized labor through his protectionist policies and attempts to paint the democrats as out of touch elites. democrats are seeing to counter those efforts by giving a platform to the heads of unions while seemingly punishing those who express openness to the gop populist shift. the policy could be seen at the democratic national convention, where the president of the united auto workers led the crowd and calling trump a scab and lapdog of the billionaire class. we have a portion of his remarks

at the dnc last month. here is a clip. [video clip] >> for the uaw and working-class people, the election comes down to one question. which side are you on? on one side, we have kamala harris and tim walz, who have stood shoulder to shoulder with the working class. on the other side, we have trump and vance. two lapdogs for the billionaire class who only serve themselves. so for us in the labor movement, it is simple. harris is one of us.

she is a fighter for the working class. and donald trump is a scab. host: that was united auto workers president shawn fain. he has been active in supporting vice president kamala harris in her campaign. as the hill reports, anticipation continues to swirl around the potential teamsters endorsement. a potential endorsement in the 2024 race remains an open question after that democratic national convention. the teamsters union says it has historically waited until after the party conventions to endorse, making this week a pivotal milestone for the endorsement timeline. joining unions in endorsing the

democratic ticket is not a guarantee. the teamsters are working through their endorsement process, according to a spokesperson at the end of august in a yet to be scheduled roundtable with president -- vice president harris on the horizon. the teamsters president gave remarks at the republican national convention in july and here's a portion of those remarks. >> i travel across this country and meet with my members every week. you know what i see? an american worker being taken for granted. workers sold out to big banks, big tech, corporate and elites. i am not the only one who sees it. every day see it. the american people are not stupid. they know the system is broken. we all know how washington is

run. working people have no chance of winning this fight. that is why i am here today, because i refused to keep doing the same thing my predecessors did. today, the teamsters are here to say we are not beholden to anyone or any party. we will create with a bipartisan coalition ready to accomplish something real for the american worker. i do not care about getting criticized. it is an honor to be the first teamster in our 121 year history to address the republican national convention.

host: and he did take a lot of criticism for that speech at the republican national convention. his speech even partially spurred a top teamsters executive to mount a bid to run against him for president when o'brien's current term is up. the executive teamsters vice president at large said it was naive to believe that those who attended the republican convention would support unions in any way, shape, form, or matter. some comments from text messa. dave says all americans are part of the union. almo ery union has been bailed out by thaxyers at some point through the years. without taxpayer funds, most would not have survived. union bailouts are nothing new. john in califoiaays unions are declining duto loss of

manufaurg to overseas robotics and poor leadership that does not represent all members. aron says unions cost workers a lot of money and do not provide consiste support and paent care suffers. she mentioned she is a registered nurse. employee costs rise and they increase the workloador -- per health ce workers. sue in new jersey says, contrary to popular belief, you cannot be a slacker in a labor uni. it is hard work but my husband is proud of his years in the union. steve inlorida says american workers need collectiveeverage and a collective voice, especially when the concentration of corporate power and inequality of al are out of control. worker quaf-life has

declined since the reagan administration gutions. and stephen in floor to says unions served a great need in the early 1900s to about the 1970' unions protected workers from poor working cons and poor treatment. unions are no longer necessary since federal lotecting worker rights and conditions. unionse served their purpose. unions are now obsolete and maybe even detrimental to the workplace. if you would like to weigh in on this conversation, if you view's -- if you view unions positively, (202) 748-8000. if you viewed unions negatively, (202) 748-8001. if you are a union member, (202) 748-8002. you can text us at (202) 748-8003. we are also on x as well as facebook. let's go to michael in florida, who is a union member.

caller: i -- i have been a union member for years. and the international brotherhood of electrical workers. i was vice president and i was also assistant business manager. so this thing about unions, i will tell you what it is like down here in florida. it is a right to work state. it is miserable. yes. host: how does it affect the way you work? caller: i have been retired for three years because -- did retirement.

all contracts are paid. all contractor paid insurance, that is what we do. we bargain. we bargain for what we need and these people -- i hated for them. i feel so sad for all these people that are struggling. it is so sad to me. host: let's hear from leonard in new jersey, who views unions positively. caller: i think unions are so important. they talk about suffrage -- yes. they were very important in bringing us to the forefront today and it is unfortunate that they declined back during the

reagan administration when they dismantled the airports and the control towers, but i think we need to see an incline because i look at unions as being an extension of the family and it is important that everybody have representation. when you do not have representation in any entity you have what we have here today, the struggle for those who have versus those who do not have. we need every turn to union representation because everybody needs representation. when you do not have it, you are not going to have a quality. host: tomorrow, president joe biden and democratic presidential nominee vice president kamala harris will host a labor day campaign rally in pittsburgh. this will be president biden' second appearanc the vice president since his decision to end his reectn bid.

you will be able to see that if tune and live4:45 p.m. on c-span, c-span now, or online at c-span.org. mark is in philadelphia, pennsylvania and is a union member. caller: i am a retired union member. i retired at 62. i have been retired for 15 years. it were not for my retiree health benefits that i took into retirement, i probably will not be speaking to you today. the reason is i have had some health issues and medicare is better than nothing but medicare , if you have a major health incident, is not very good. i was in the american federation

of employees and before that i was an accountant. before that, i was a private sector public accounting and my normal work week was 50, 60 hours a week with no overtime, terrible benefits. and it was night and day. there are friends of mine that, if they had had the same health insurance i had, plus a medicare supplement plan, they would probably still be with us but they are no longer on this earth. they are six feet under now because they did not have the same health benefits i was able to take into retirement. this is a little discussed issue owing on now, health care available to people that retired that cannot take their health benefits into retirement. so i credit the fact that i'm still alive to my labor union

and i want to get that out there. host: next up is frank, who has a negative view of unions. caller: my thought on the unions is more than anything where i have seen results was with the teachers union and the schools and how they treated the students, like they were voting for themselves more than for the students they are supposed to be supporting and helping. so i have a negative view on the unions they feel everything is for themselves and not for those people they work for or support. host: we have a comment on x from lisa, who says the majority of labor union workers in this country work f t government. teachers, firefighters, policeman. why do people who work for the government need a union?

just go back to that chart, they actually broke down the number of union jobs in the public versus private sector. in the early 1980's, about two thirds of union jobs when the private sector. that has fallen to a 50-50 split with the government sector. now it is about half of workers -- of union workers in the country work for some government agency. eddie is in illinois and has a positive view of unions. caller: good morning. i worked for a company for 40 years. i was in the union for two years , so i am a pro union supporter. the company i worked for, whatever the unions got as a company employee we got, the cost-of-living raise.

until one year -- i don't want to say one year, but i heard one of your other person speak up. nafta came in and was the north america trade association. my copy started sending jobs to mexico. i think there was a downfall of corporations. they tried to make more money to pay off the less amount of money they could. my company started sending stuff to china and it was amazing to me. but i was a supporter of the union because whatever the unions got, the people that worked in the company, and i worked in the comely for 40 years come and i enjoyed the

union when i was in it. i became a union member when i got into the training program. host: howard is in illinois and is a union member himself. go ahead. caller: i am still active in the union. i am retired. fraternal order of police. but i'm also a retired teamster. unions are good and bad. everyone is synthesizing the so-called blue-collar workers but forgetting the pilots association, the teachers union, they might call themselves something different but they are all still unions. you cannot be a doctor in america and not belong to the

american medical association. so unions are there to set the guidelines of standards and to force government or management to do things they otherwise would not do because they did not think of it or because they do not consider it. if they do it, to do it consistently for everyone as opposed to their favorites. we have all worked for, for lack of a better word, poor bosses who treat -- they are so obvious and how they treat the workers or employees. how discipline is handed down. unions force it to be consistent . i was want to say they are needed because there is a saying that of all men were angels we would not need government. if we were angels, we would not need unions either because we would treat each other as we

would wish to be treated. we do not do that and management does not do that. they are looking at things from a totally different perspective, so it is a give-and-take. but when the rank-and-file front like the uaw, or even fop, when you get someone in who is not reflecting what the workers want but the workers do not understand the management of the union is to get concessions for management and is a give-and-take. you have to negotiate in good faith and relationship with these people. yes, the uaw union backed the democrat party, but the rank-and-file i am sure they are not doing it. it is a give-and-take in our

system of government. host: there was a text message that did not include tame but said i am sure there are some u arrangefor rk that are good but obviously see themeprenting the interests of all workers and in somees he a negative influence on worker rights conditions. this is ironic because unions were formed to help workers through collective bargaining but this power can b abused. as wit any human institutions where rand rule of laws neglected. when robertson says labor unions are corrupt and donate mostly to corrupt politicians for future bailouts. the working members see this and will mostly vote republican. unions will create problems between companies and workers. it goes on more, but let's goo sue in new jersey.

we read that already. she said you cannot be a slacker in a labor union. in glendale, arizona last week my former president trump on the campaign trail spoke about his many factoring path and tariff policies to help industry and workers as part of his pitch to get union workers. [video clip] >> we have more liquid gold under our feet than any country in the world, including saudi arabia, including russia. we will use it to reduce taxes and energy costs for our people. we will reduce your energy bills in one year by more than 50%. that is here and everywhere in the country. that includes heating, air conditioning, electricity, and gasoline. i will turn the united states into a manufacturing superpower

more than it has ever been before. we will bring back jobs to america. we will no longer allow foreign countries to take our jobs and steal our wealth. we will make our own products and buy less from foreign countries then we are right now. we will make it here. other countries that make us pay a tax to do business with them will be charged the same tax when they send their product into the united states. it will be called the trump reciprocal trade tax. if china or any other country charges us a 100 percent tax or tariff, we will charge them a reciprocal tariff of 100% or 200%. in the words of a great president, william mckinley, the

protective tariff policy of the republicans has made the lives of our countrymen sweeter, brighter, and is the best our citizenship and civilization can ever have, better destiny for our people. we ought to take care of our own nation and we have to take care of our industries first. we have to take care of our country first. host: that was former president trump speaking in michigan. union support for trump in the 2020 election, union members supported trump by 48%. 57% of union members supported biden in that 2020 election. in the 2016 election when trump was running against hillary clinton, hillary clinton beat trump by eight points among union members. let's go back to your calls.

frank in north carolina views unions negatively. caller: good morning. nice day today. unions have worn out their usefulness. because, like with jimmy hoffa in the unions, he brought people out of poverty. he did a lot. but now we live in a global economy. we have to compete with people in asia and mexico and india and these unions -- i am going to say this. i have worked in factories back in the 1970's and i worked in one a year ago and the conditions are bad. compared to the 1970's when i worked because we had plenty of employees and minimum wage was $4.20 and then you fast-forward to today.

we do not have plenty of employees. conditions are -- it is hard work and they work 12 hours of overtime. they work five days a week, 12 hours, and then they work on saturday. they may as well live at the plant. why is that? why do we have a shortage of employees? does roe v. wade ring a bell? 50 million, 60 million abortions , there should be close to 600 million people in america right now. that is beside the point now. you have to figure we are competing worldwide now things to the internet, if you guys have not realized that. that is all i have to say. host: chris is in virginia and views unions positively. turn down the volume on your tv

first and then go ahead. caller: this is chris out of virginia. i have been a union member since 1987. the union has done great things for me. i just have a high school diploma and i went through print his ship and learned a trade. now i'm retired with insurance and everything. i have nothing but good, positive meant to say about the union. >> which union? >> the local 100. and let me tell you, it has done me a world of good in my life. it bought me a home. i have nothing but good to say about the union. thank you. host: john is in maryland and is a union member. >> i have a problem.

the economy is down. -- how the unions get better wages for their members as opposed to right to work states or have inflation numbers separated by these union states and right to work states because right to work states do not give the them at this -- the emphasis to people to get better wages. in minnesota, wages went up 30% and inflation is up 30%. so inflation is felt more badly

in right to work states. host: before i let you go, i am looking up information about what you suggested. the thing i was able to find quickly from the national bureau of economic research, which has a 2022 paper about the impact of right to work laws on unionization and wages, and found that in the five states that adopted right to work laws in 2011 to 2017, unionization and wages declined, particularly in construction, education, and publican ministration. then researchers find right to work laws are associated with a drop of about four percentage points unionize asian rates

after adoption -- unionization rates. these impacts are driven by three industries at the baseline, construction, education, and public administration were right to work laws reduce unionization by almost 13 percentage points and wages by 4%. the impact of right to work laws on legion -- on wages and unionization rates is larger for women and public sector, two groups overrepresented in highly unionized industries. does that address your question? >> caller: not really because now it is 2024. people say -- inflation is 58%. now i would like them to separate by right to work states

because mostly people do not feel like asking for more wages when they do not have unions. host: i was able to find a piece looking at states that have enacted right to work legislation and it says unions -- 27 states have right to work laws in place to prevent private sector unions from collecting fees from all members. unions have mostly adapted to these laws and their popularity has died down since 2010. however, these laws remain a headwind as union organizing efforts pick up now. for decades, laws have been a way to depress union membership and divert resources away. when wages are lower for union workers, it means competing nonunion employers are able to pay lower, according to research

from the economic policy institute that found wages in right to work states were 3.1% lower than non-right to work states after accounting for differences in cost of living. a study found states with these laws see lower political participation than states without them as well as reduced support for the democratic party specifically. caller: depressed wages. that means people feel inflation more and they complain about it, but they are complaining to the wrong people. they complained to the federal government. they should be complained to their own state legislatures. they situate over -- should switch over like in minnesota to democrats so they get better wages. then they do not feel the inflation as much.

host: eli is in georgia and views unions positively. >> i am a 35 year teamster and i drove for about three years and put 35 years in the teamsters and 32 years driving a big rig. for being part of the union -- the union has been nothing but a positive for me. my wife was in the union 37 years. she worked for nabisco. we paid off two homes and we have an rv and we are going all the way to oregon enjoying life. but you have to stand for something in america. if you step back and wait on people that are keeping you poor, you will stay poor. all your life. you have to stand for something.

the union was good for me. i drove for universal studio for three years and i drove the bus when they made the movie smoking of the bandits. it was a great experience for me. host: let's hear from tim in ohio. caller: first, when i listen to donald trump talk about how much he gives to unions, you have to consider what he has done to unions and what he said to elon musk. you can form your mouth to say anything. for him to talk about how much he is for unions after telling elon musk if they go on strike

go fire them, that says all that. but i was not going to get political. the thing about unions, i was a union member for 30 years. unions have their downfall. i'm tired of being underrepresented, but as far as protecting worker rights and asking for fair wages, i think it is there -- imperative we keep unions. if you look at one party versus the other, and i guess i will be political, regulations are removed by one party that says you can drill undo this -- they just removed the regulations. who does that benefit? the wealthy and business owners.

i guess out understand not wanting to have my employees tell me how to run my business. however, to make sure they have safe and fair wages, it is imperative that you keep unions. gets me is a lot of these people , middle class and lower middle class, they think as though -- the unions are what keep their wages steady and keep employers from saying we can let you go for any reason. right to work states tell you they can release you for any reason. i think it is silly to say that unions have not kept up. host: let's go to steve in pennsylvania, who is a union member.

caller: good morning. i worked in a private sector union, not a public sector union. and this is the way i look at things. for one thing, i see that you played the clip of the guy calling donald trump a scab at the democratic convention. the democrats have been in charge for the last four years. people forget that. what did they do? did they do anything different? did they do anything better? donald trump did renegotiate nafta to the benefit of the american worker and that was between mexico and canada.

as far as -- host: it sounds like your line is cutting up. let's go to mike in alabama, who views unions negatively. caller: there has been a slight uptick in unions recently with the middle part of the country with united auto workers and then he tried to make an effort in the deep south trying to unionize mercedes-benz. automotive workers are moving to the south because they are right to work states and everything is relative as far as cost of living goes. sure, it costs more to live in the northeast or into the -- into michigan or what have you and the middle part of the country, but in the south everything is relative. it is cheaper.

it is more inexpensive to buy a house and taxes are lower, so everything is relative. it comes down to economics. there has been a slight uptick based on younger people getting more interested in unions with the starbucks effort of being unionized, so amazon. it depends who is going to be in the white house also. the national labor relations board right now is staffed with democrats. if trump gets in, there is going to be a turn and unions will also decrease in private representation. that is all i had to say. have a great day. host: thanks to everyone who called in this hour. next, we will have sirius xm talkshow host reecie colbert, who will join us to talk about campaign 20 24 and the political news of the day.

later, nina mcbride, who served of staff to first lady laura bush will be here to discuss the role of critical spouses in the white house and the 2024 campaign trail. we will be right back. ♪ >> tonight on q and a, former rhode island democratic congressman, patrick kennedy talks about americans who struggle with mental illness and the role family members play in their care. >> in my case, it's my mother. my brother and sister had to get guardianship over my mother. we saved her life so she could be around with my kids. my kids never met my father, obviously, who died before they were born. they got to meet my mom.

my brother and sister and i went to court to get guardianship over our mother to keep her from killing herself. she was so happy. at the time she wasn't happy. but she ended up being so grateful that she was able to make it to the other side because we intervened. >> patrick kennedy with his book, profiles and mental health courage. you can listen to q and a and all of our podcasts on our free c-span now at. >> weekends bring you book tv, featuring leading authors discussing their latest nonfiction books. stephen hale retraces the lives of inmates on death row and the people who visit them at the riverbend maximum-security institution in tennessee in his book, jethro welcomes you. then, tulsi gabbard, author of

her love of country talks about why she left the democrac party and became an independent. we will have books about the january 6 right, starting with the war within. followed by jack. he talks about ashli babbitt and the other women who participated in the right with his book, ashli. watch book tv every weekend on c-span two or watch online at book tv.org. >> watch the abc news presidential debate simulcast live on the c-span network. tuesday, september 10, as the candidates go head-to-head for their first debate since securing their party's nomination. coverage begins with a preview show at 8:00 p.m., followed by

the debate at 9:00 p.m. eastern. the presidential debate simulcast, live on tuesday on the c-span network. c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. powered by cable. >> washington journal continues. host: welcome back. we are joined by reecie colbert, the host of serious xm's the reecie colbert show. welcome to washington journal. caller: thank you -- guest: thank you for having me. host: can you tell me what you talk about and the critical point of view. guest: my show is the black talk -- on the black talk radio show on sirius xm. it's a little bit of politics. a lot a bit of politics and culture. and current even sprayed i try to keep it spicy and interesting. my perspective is pragmatic progressive is how i would characterize it.

people will call in and way on their thoughts -- weigh in on their thoughts. host: who's calling in? guest: my audience is balanced gender wise. it's mostly an african-american audience but i get a mixed or of people as well. it's pretty diverse. they are mostly on the democratic side but i have a couple of rabble-rousers who are republicans who like to call in and get things a little riled up. host: so, you talk a lot about politics on the show. you've written a book about politics, the midterms in 2022. can you talk about vice president harris's presidential candidacy so far? an unusual set of circumstances brought her to it, what kind of challenges issue facing? guest: i've been a supporter of her for a very long time, going back to 2019 -- her 2019 campaign. i studied her rise from being district attorney up to now. nothing that is happening right

now is terribly surprising to me. if people were paying attention to the polling and the data prior to her becoming the nominee, they would have seen that she was always pulling ahead of president biden with younger people and people of color. so, she's benefiting from the truncated campaign. she's obviously benefiting from the rallying behind her, which is something i've never seen. as it relates to vp, she had these headwinds against her in her presidential campaign and as being vice president, she was undermined and diminished along the way. right now, i think she is running an excellent campaign. she has the entire democratic party behind her, which is a much better difference than what we were experiencing with present biden before he dropped out and any other time in vice president harris's career. host: you are a supporter of vice president harris, do you have any role in her campaign? guest: i am -- i have not worked

for her in any capacity and never have. host: can you talk about her record on issues pertinent to the black community? guest: vice president kamala harris has been focused on racial equity. in her agenda, we can look at what she did around her 2019 campaign. she has not necessarily outlined racial equity think so far in this campaign. but at the white house, i reported several times from the white house on things she has done, for example, homeownership appraisal buys. -- bias. she had a task force that she led to eliminate homeownership appraisal bias. that was one specific thing. another thing is black fraternal mortality. black women are three times more likely to die in childbirth than our white counterparts, which is already higher than any other developed nation in the world. she has elevated the issue to

the white house level. that is another really important -- the last thing i would say is her work around hbcus. not only has she helped secure additional hbcu funding but when hbcus were experiencing safety and bomb threats, she helped alvin eyes a multi agency -- galvanize a multi agency response to make sure students would be safe on campus. host: how about her criminal justice record? that has been a subject of discussion and misinformation as well. guest: her camille justice record has been butchered. -- criminal justice record has been butchered. the notion that donald trump said she was a prosecutor of the blacks is ridiculous. she was a person who was progressive. according to recording in 2003, there is an article that did a deep dive into her career or her candidacy and she did things like the back on track program, which was targeted toward getting people of color, not

only black men and latino men, but also women and if it from this program, out of jail. people who were facing 20 years for crack possession, now getting them into vocational programs, getting them into educational programs. things like health care, parental training. i think her record shows throughout her 20 years of being an elected official that she is not a person who was in any way trying to target or be extra harsh on black people. she's been about justice. host: you mention specifically black men which has been a key constituency of focus for both campaigns this cycle. am going to read a bit from an article in the associated press about this, which says black, male voters are traditionally one of the most consistently democratically leaning demographics in the nation. this year, both major parties view black men, especially those under the age of 40 as

attainable voters. whether black men turn out in high numbers and what degree they maintain traditional support for democratic candidates may prove decisive in november. talk about black men and kamala harris and what you have seen so far in the campaign. guest: i think it is clear to both parties, black men are the second highest number credit voting democrat in terms of the margins. it makes sense that both parties would try to target them. i think that the notion that kamala harris has a black, male problem is completely overblown. i think if republicans want to waste resources on chasing that voter block, i welcome them to do that. we have seen data that has come out in terms of the increase in black voters in their registration since she became the nominee. this wasn't something that was limited to black women. lachman saw large increases in

their -- black men saw large increases in their voter registration as well. if we look at the approval ratings of kamala harris over the years, she has done well with black men. i think black men will be a core cart -- part of her demographic and voting coalition. host: nbc news is talking about the trump campaign ramping up efforts to win over black women with a new video, a new ad that they released on wednesday, featuring a group of black women who planned to vote for him. we have that video here. we are going to play for you and then talk about it. >> i'm not with kamala harris. >> i'm not with kamala. >> i am not for kamala. i am for donald trump. >> i am not with kamala. >> i'm not with her because she's not with me. >> i support president trump and the economic policies our country experienced under his leadership as our 45th president.

>> president trump will support our law enforcement agencies and fund them appropriately. >> donald trump made me proud to be an american. >> i'm with donald j. trump. >> we need a leader who can make america great again. >> we need donald trump. >> i and millions of other black americans will cast my vote for donald j. trump. >> i will probably cast my vote for donald j. trump. >> let's make america great again. host: so, i'm not with her. this is a strategy the trump campaign is using to try to distance harris from the black community, which was similar to language he was using when speaking at the national association of black journalists convention when he said she had not always considered herself black.

guest: it's patronizing, it's not going to work. it's insulting and completely lacking of any kind of substance. if we look at the things they were saying, they were supporting donald trump on things like his economic policies. he left us with an economic mess because he mishandled covid. they want to bring up law enforcement. donald trump is talking about giving immunity to law enforcement officers. he got on the nabj stage and when he was asked about sonya massey, he insinuated she brought it upon herself and he did not back down on the notion he would provide immunity to police officers. we know from data and surveys of black voters that police accountability, criminal justice reform is a high priority for our community. a person who suggests it's ok for cops to kill black people

with immunity is not in line with the majority of black voters. there will always be a percentage of people there. it's fine to have people who are not with her. that's normal. i think if this is their strategy to get black people on their side, they are delusional if they think that's going to work. host: if you have questions for reecie colbert, you can call in. our number is (202) 748-8000. republicans can call in at (202) 748-8001. dependents at -- independents at (202) 748-8002. let's start with daryl, who is a democrat in florida. good morning, darrell. caller: good morning. i would like to make one quick comment. everybody keeps bringing up kamala harris's qualifications. donald trump, he never ran for public service. i feel like he is an outsider and i feel like everything he put out there is divisive and

she's trying to pull americans together. that's all i have to say. host: your thoughts? guest: i agree. vice president kamala harris is one of the most qualified people to run for president. she's already the sitting vice president. she has four years in the senate. she has two terms as attorney general. she has been elected at every level, local and statewide and federally. it makes sense that when you are looking for the qualifications, you would turn to vice president kamala harris. host: what about what the caller was saying about former president trump's record for the black community? what did he do while he was in office? guest: he left the black community with 400,000 fewer small businesses as a result of his mishandling of covid. the black unemployment rate was 13 something percent or higher when he left office. he wiped out a lot of the gains we made from the obama-biden administration when they cleaned up the mess that president bush

left. i don't see where he did anything positive other than saying that he did. he took credit for instance for hbcu funding going up. vice president kamala harris, when she was the senator, her and senator doug jones spurred it. every place there was improvement, those were not things he spearheaded. he may have signed off on it but he was not behind any kind of racial equity initiatives during his administration which were few and far between. host: going back to the effort to bring more black men to the republican party, jenae a thomas is quoted as sayick men have been taken for granted the democratic party for years. but presidump's message is resonating at historic levels because he is doing the work. what are the main differences between the two political parties? and for black men in particular?

guest: the notion that democrats are neglecting black men, i think that is ridiculous. we have black men serving in the administration and in the cabinet. donald trump had ben carson, a neurosurgeon as hud secretary. that was what ticket was. we have michael regan, who was in the in ministry she prayed we have key advisors, we are saying because i'm a democrat but they have key advisors in their administration that are black men. look at the economic record. we have seen -- go up. 60% from 2019 to 2022. we have seen record investment in hbcus and an engagement with black men vice president kamala harris for instance had an entrepreneurship summit at the white house with a roundtable of black men. what donald trump has done is said black can relate to him because he's being persecuted by

the criminal justice system. he think she has a kinship with blackman because he things black men are criminals. that's what his administration did come over criminalize lack men and not focus on the economic advancements of black men in particular. host: let's hear from kevin on the independent line. caller: i live in florida. i want to bring to the attention of the american people -- i think it is not serving the country well. we are living in a country where what has happened is we said people of color are not human beings. they should not be educated. they should not be able to vote. and they fought for themselves

against all the odds. when the country says we need to recognize these people, you had to pass a civil rights act. the civil rights act is to teach white americans, this is how you act in a civilized matter. what happens, you still have to pass a voting rights act. host: did you have a question for receipt? -- reecie? caller: i would like to ask her, how does she feel about us addressing the issues surrounding people of color and the representation in the republican party? i'm a libertarian conservative, right. i vote democratic because i

don't see the republican party speaking up for people of color. guest: i think that at the end of the day, in order to be a republican, you have to sign up to the maga agenda that tries to minimize and dismiss the fact that racism exists. they are not allowed to acknowledge the fact that racism is real, the fact that dei, diverse equity inclusion is something that is advancing for people throughout the country -- advancing people throughout the country, not just black people. i don't know how people in good conscience become republican electives but i am all for representation in any party. i think if you're going to be there, don't just be a figurehead, be a person who moves the needle forward. we are seeing less and less of that from republicans, black republicans in this day and age. host: jack in ohio. good morning. caller: i just want to ask the

lady a question. i'm not an african-american. i'm a foundational black american. i wish black women like her, she looks like a foundational black woman. i would like for her to represent us right. when kamala harris says she's not going to do anything specifically for black america, she lost the blackman's vote right then and there -- black men's vote right then and there. we want black women like you to mission -- listen. we want reparations, we want an anti-hate crime bill. we want tangibles. we are not playing games with the democrats. you have been running this country for the last 16 years. what have you done for us blackman? -- black men? specifically black men? when it comes to black men like the people in chicago and new

york, they bring in all of these latinos, running our neighborhoods over. host: let's let reecie respond. guest: i appreciate this because this is the greatest hits of disinformation campaigns targeting the black community. first of all, there is no such thing as the asian hate crime bill. there is the covid-19 hate crime bill which added a doj to root review cases that are covid-19 -- to review cases that are covid-19 related. there is no deficiency when it comes to the black community in terms of hate crime legislation. we wouldn't know that black people are the number one victims of hate crime if we did not have it all hate crime legislation. that is a battle that has been won and does not need to be re-litigated and fought again. in terms of democrats having control for 16 years, we had four years of a donald trump administration where we saw the

country go into the crapper in terms of his handling of covid. you can't hold democrats accountable for the fact that there are over 30 states that have republican -- when you are looking at where black people are most heavily concentrated, it's in states that have public publican trifecta's. democrats are not running those states. -- republican trifecta's, democrats are not running those states. i should've written that down first. that's from an interview where five seconds of a clip is taken out of a response in which she was saying that anything that she does or anything the country does for black people will benefit all of our country. so she was not saying that she would not do anything specifically for black people, she was saying anything that benefits black people benefits all of the country. the reality is she has done

things specifically for black people. i don't know how you can call yourself wanting tangibles and things specifically for black people when you have republicans who are doing things like suing the government or suing this administration, suing so that black farmers cannot get relief. i don't know how you reconcile the idea that black people need to get things specifically, reparations being one of them, where 100 people -- 100% of the people who support reparations are democrats, not republicans. i think there is work to be done but let's be consistent in our views and the policies we are advocating for. host: timothy on the line for democrats, good morning. caller: good morning. host: can you turn down the volume on the tv and then keep going. caller: holland. host: thank you -- caller: hold on.

host: thank you. caller: is it down now? host: not quite. we will go to rudy in kansas on our line for independents and hopefully we can get timothy back later. go ahead, rudy. caller: good morning ms. colbert and to the host. i'm an independent voter. and i do not really support kamala harris. but i -- this will be a protest vote for me. i dislike donald trump. i think he is anti-black. and i don't think he has done anything for black people. and i want your thoughts on that in terms of he's always talking about he's the greatest president that black people have ever had since lincoln. we have had other historic figures in our history, like john brown.

william lloyd garrison and other abolitionists. and they are never talked about in this society. i want you to speak on the fact that donald trump doesn't even like like people. and he has shown that when he got sued in new york in the 1980's for not renting to black people. these were black people with money. these were not for black people. he is lying and he is a pathological liar. these people talking about they are not going to vote for harris , we should vote for her just to get donald trump out of the way and off the scene. he's a narcissistic, racist man who has no morals. he has no -- host: you asked for reecie to respond. let's hear her. guest: i will taken unenthusiastic vote. the reality is i don't think that we have to surmise what donald trump's feelings are

toward black people. he has expressed it. remember in his 2016 campaign, he said your lives are living in hell, what do you have to lose? that was his appeal. now his appeal is i'm a criminal, aren't you criminals too? can't you relate to that? when you look at some of the things we are seeing now in terms of the backlash and the racial reckoning of george floyd in 2020, he put in place the 1776 commission, an alternative to the 1619 project. that lays the ground for what we are seeing with these anti-dei initiatives. i could name a number of things but i have not seen any evidence he holds our committee in high regard and i have not seen any policy that regards that. caller: good morning. i think i heard the lady say that donald trump said it was ok for police to shoot and kill

black people. i've never heard him say that. it's a fact that more white people get killed by police than black people. but of course, the media does not cover that because it doesn't depict their agenda. she just basically lied, saying that trump said it's ok. another thing is we don't even know what kamala's policies are. she won't talk to nobody. she did that recorded deal the other night, which she had all day to practice what she wanted to say and she still screwed it up. donald trump was the best president that we have ever had until covid came along. and democrats are the ones who shut everything down. host: i want to let you finish your point. but i did want to get some additional details on what former president trump said at

the national association of black journalists convention about police immunity. here is the story from nbc. trump has been outspoken in his support of police officers has gone a step further in recent campaign appearances, calling for nearly blanket immunity from prosecution for officers. when asked about those comments in the context of the sonya massey shooting, trump said he was not fully up-to-date on the case and discussed recent violence in chicago as an example of why police officers need more protection in court and in the view of public opinion. i'm talking about people that are much different cases and we need police to protect ourselves. and by the way, in chicago, it's an example, a few weeks ago. july 4 weekend, there were 117 shootings and 17 deaths. nobody wants that. we need to have our police officers have their respect and dignity back. trump said he did not support

full immunity for prosecution but says that the limited time officers have the make decisions should be taken into consideration. there is a big difference between a bad person and making an innocent mistake, he said. sometimes you have less than a second to make a life-and-death decision and sometimes very bad decisions are made. they are not made from an evil standpoint but they are made from the standpoint of they made a mistake. ok. that was a summary of what he said. go ahead and finish. then we will let reecie respond. caller: he's not saying it's ok for police to kill black people. they do have just a split second to do what they need to do. and more police officers get killed than black people from police. so, anyway, since you chimed in, i forgot my other thought. like i said, the economy was the greatest when trump was president until covid hit and

then when that hit, democrats shut down everything. that's when it kind of went down, like she said, to the crapper. we are still in the crapper with democrats. host: go ahead. guest: i will concede your point. donald trump did not say it's ok to kill black people. he basically said they could kill anybody. that impacts white people more than black people, i can see that point. the reality is kamala harris has spoken about her policies. you mentioned the interview on cnn. she has been barnstorming the country, doing rallies. there was the democratic national convention. as far as donald trump being the

best president until covid, what do you mean until? if you are not a good president during crisis, you are not a good president at all. it doesn't really matter what he had done before hand when he inherited a robust economy and a gravy situation. it matters how you handle time in crisis. that's what we want from a president, not a person who mis-handles it and tells people they can inject bleach. host: dave on our independent line, good morning. caller: as long as they keep her from doing interviews and protecting her and such, i think she will do really well. i was wondering where we could get those historic speeches copies on the passage of time and the yellow school buses, i would like to buy those, thank you. host: i'm not sure what you mean there, dave. guest: i don't know. host: let's go to mark in

georgia on our line for independents. caller: hey, how are you doing? host: good. caller: i'm an independent voter. this election year, i'm kind of on the fence between kamala harris and trump. trump, he's a very unsavory character. if you get past all of his antics and his off-the-wall comments, he sort of makes sense when it comes down to economics and the money. even though i don't think he's forthright and truthful. and then when i look at kamala harris, she is a career politician. but when i listen to her economic plan, it's unsavory by itself. the thing about the democratic party at this point in my opinion, i do not like how they use race baiting and identity politics to persuade african, especially african-american voters to vote for them.

i feel insulted by it, because kamala, from what i knew from -- from what i know from when i first knew kamala in the 2000, she was indian or south pacific or asian or whatever term she wanted to use but now she identifies with her black side during this campaign. what i don't really appreciate. my biggest issue with her is as a homeowner and a black man working, i don't see any economic reason to vote for her. when i look at trump's plan for capital gains taxes compared to hers, it makes me more prone to want to vote for him. even though he may not in closed doors be pro-black, he won't affect my money. my economics. he allows me to be able to make a reasonable gain on my returns. host: let's let reecie respond.

you've raised several points. guest: there wasn't a question in there but i will say as a homeowner i got screwed by donald trump's tax plans when he had a marriage penalty thrown in. maybe you don't live in a blue state where you pay property taxes like i do or state income taxes but his plan was very detrimental to me personally. i don't know exactly what you're priorities are. but i have seen some comments on unrealized capital gains and things that have been reported that our vice president kamala harris's policies. if you are not a 100 millionaire or a person who gets $1 million of investment income, you don't really have anything to worry about when it comes to vice president kamala harris's economic policies. she's saying she will not raise taxes on anybody who makes less than $400,000. that has been true through this administration. if you care about things like child poverty, that is something

they -- there is no talk of bringing that back. if you care about things like education, look at project 2025, wanting to get rid of the department of education. there are many reasons to support the economic agenda of vice president kamala harris versus donald trump. just look at where we are right now. 16 million new jobs. this recession that never happened, interest rates are going to be cut in september. there are a lot of things moving in the right direction. but if that's not the case for you personally, you are one person and one vote and you are entitled to it. host: he mentioned this idea that vice president harris has only recently started identifying as black and recently only referred to herself as salvation, which is not true. but michaela montgomery discussed her support for former president trump and issues

around driving black voters in campaign 2024. she was asked about comments president trump made that we referenced earlier about harris's identity and how she has identified. >> if you days before that, he spoke to the national associations -- a few days before that, he spoke to the national association of black journalists. a lot of critics said that hurt him with black voters. what was your reaction? >> i don't know why it would hurt him with black voters, it seems like black voters are offended by everything except the conditions in which their reality is set. while we might be offended a rich white man is questioning the identity of a black woman, that black woman does not claim to be black outside of campaign season. we saw her black as she was

trying to be vp. the hot sauce, the pork chop, marching with the band. all of she's paying attention to her a.k.a. sorority sisters. once sworn into office, you did not see acknowledgment of her sorority or hbcu. she did not wear anything pink or green or anything hu. she did not acknowledge the black community in office. we saw bills signed for asians. we saw bills passed for literally everyone but black people. so for her, after she took that oath of office, she went on record to say she was the first south asian vice president. at no point in time did she promote her likeness. at no point in time did she acknowledge her blackness orb market herself as a black woman. that was when she was attorney general and v.a. until she was senator and of course as vice president. so the fact that she is using

this black card during the election season just so black people will turn out to vote for her and then if she were to win, she would be in office and then fail those same black people who did everything in their power to get her in. i think that is disgusting and i think that's unfair. i think that's why i personally reached out to the trump campaign and asked if i could speak. you guys might be offended when he says it but what are you going to do when i say it? i am a black woman and i have lived a black life. and i pay attention to politics. i was actually excited for her when she ran for president the first time. just the fact that she was in the race, i was like ok, hbcu, do your thing. she never acknowledged that hbcu. in the first hundred days of the administration, they cut funding to hbcus. she did nothing to support the people she is leaning on to win this election. if they were to support her in this election and she does win, we will see nothing but a repeat

of the last administration in which black people, the same people everybody tells when it's time to get elected, will be the first ones to be forgotten. host: your response? guest: lies, lies, lies. it is such a delusion allies that it's hard to keep up. she said she never marketed herself. vice president kamala harris is a black woman. she has been very clear on that. she said it in the montage at the dnc and talked about it in her book. there is no question about that. what i will tell you this is about. the number of ways vice president harris has been attacked from her first campaign until now is on the issue of race and trying to drive a wedge between her and the black amenity. they think black voters are voting on identity alone as opposed to politics. that might be the case for trump

voters and that seems to have a hangup with vice president harris's racial makeup or maybe they think she is saying it too much or not enough. they keep contradicting themselves but that is an attack that's not going to work. vice president kamala harris is a black woman. she's of south asian dissent. she never marketed herself as anything other than a qualified person for any position she has run for. you don't have to market your blackness. she is black. host: lane is on our -- blaine is on our line for democrats from wisconsin. caller: -- secondly of all, with mr. trump facing a debate on september 5 -- september 3, excuse me.

and then a sentencing on september 16 and possibly another sentencing on september 18, what is the emotional presentation going to be for any of these three parties concerned? how do you feel about that? host: i don't think we understood the second question. i understand the point about truancy in california and the rates going up, but what do you mean about the trump sentencing? which parties are you referencing and their emotional state heading into the debate? caller: let's say trump is convicted of 34 crimes, what's going to happen with his conviction asked -- conventions and sentencing? host: go ahead. guest: truancy went down under vice president harris. before anybody says it, she did

not lock up like mothers for truancy. nobody was locked up under vice president harris's time as district attorney. the truancy prosecutions went down as a result of then attorney general kamala harris's initiative. donald trump has been convicted of 34 felonies in manhattan. that is no longer hypothetical. the question is whether the sentencing happens as scheduled, which has already been delayed. the impact of that, donald trump can run, he's already running as a convicted felon and he can run hypothetically behind bars or as a person on probation. that is a decision he has to make and the republican party has said they are sticking with him. i don't know, it's up to the voters to determine how that will have an impact on this election. host: kamala harris did not make it to iowa in the presidential shwas not voted into this one. she simply assumed the position.

what has she actually done to deserve platform and deserve is in quotes. prident trump made a permanent commitment of 255 million dollars in annual funding for historical black colleges and universities areas funding for the f pel grant program by signing the future act in 2020. stop miss rep. dent: in the facts. -- misrepresenting the facts. guest: as i said, we had a democrat in the senate and a democratic house majority that did not allow that to happen. he signed the bills. that's fine. he's the president, he was supposed to do that. that bill would not have happened without a democratic majority in the house. as far as what happened in iowa, that is history. she became the vice presidential nominee in 2020 and her along with joe biden had the most votes in u.s. history. and she served as vice president for the past four years when

people voted for joe biden. they voted for the biden-harris ticket. when president biden stepped aside, vice president kamala harris earned the support of the delegates and nobody ran against her and she is the properly elected, in the sense of the delegates are who elect the vice presidential nominee, nominee of the democratic party. but if you don't believe she has earned it, that's how you exercise that through your vote. host: dexter in ohio on the line for republicans. good morning. caller: i was a democrat almost all my life. you had clinton, i voted for him. obama. even hillary at first. he was giving speeches to bankers and saying everything would be status quo. parties are funded by the same people. corporations. we have no real power.

at least trump wants to shake something up. it's not going to be status quo. i just, you know, we have to get rid of all -- of all of these layers of deep state that are totally running our country and running us into the ground. i guess kamala -- with all of this immigration, it's going to ruin the middle class, the working class people. host: ok. guest: donald trump told a bunch of corporations, corporate people at his mar-a-lago estate that -- write me a check and you will get anything you want. i'm paraphrasing so someone will say that not exactly what he said but that's what reports indicated.

he was very willing to do whatever the corporate people wanted him to do. he has been on record as saying to people when he says -- at his country club, you don't have to worry. donald trump is the one who killed the bipartisan immigration bill. he is the one that was not interested in doing anything about immigration, as long as it benefited him. he had four years to get a handle on immigration. he did not get a bill done and he didn't build a wall. he has the rhetoric. he doesn't have the record of actually having results. host: that's all the time we have for this segment. thank you so much to reecie colbert, the host of serious xm radio's -- xm radio's the

reecie colbert show. you can start calling in now. we will hear from anita mcbride later, who served as the chief of staff to first lady laura bush. she will be here to discuss the role of political spouses in the white house and on the campaign trail. we will be right back. >> i'm susan spain. campaign 2024 has evolved in some unexpected ways. from now until election day, c-span promises you unfiltered coverage for the candidates as they battle to win the white house and congress. you may not know that c-span is a private company that operates without a dime of government money. like many media organizations, we have been impacted by cord cutting. this summer, we are asking for you to help support our unbiased political coverage with a donation. here is the good news. 100% of your contribution, large or small, directly supports c-span operations.

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>> >> tonight on q and a -- >> tonight on q&a, patrick kennedy talks about -- >> in my own case, my brother and i had to get guardianship over my mother. we saved her life so she could be around my kids. my kids never met my father, who died before they were born. but they got to meet my mom. and they got to meet my mom because my brother and sister and i went to court to get guardianship over our mother. to keep her from killing herself. she was so happy. at the time, she wasn't happy. but she ended up being so grateful that she was able to make it to the other side because we intervened. >> patrick kennedy, with his book, profiles and mental health courage, tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span's q and a. you can listen to q and a and

all of our podcasts on our free c-span now app. >> washington journal continues. >> welcome back. we are in open form. you are welcome to call in with your thoughts. our line for democrats is (202) 748-8000. for republicans, (202) 748-8001. for independents, (202) 748-8002 . let's start on our independent line. russell from kansas. good morning. caller: i have a question for miss reecie. host: she has stepped away but you can make your point. please turn the blame down on your television. caller: every time i have watched these programs, it comes down to black and white. even the colored americans have nationalities that are not colored.

it's always popping up black-and-white. they need to go on merit. kamala harris, she left the borders open. they produced billions of dollars and put us in debt. yet, trump is trying to bring us back down to where we belong. everybody screams color, color, color. even the announcer. her nationality is color. but in real life, she is mixed. and everybody is that way. caller: which announcer are you talking about? are you talking about me? caller: you're the one with the braids, correct? host: yes. caller: you might be appearing colored but you are a mix, just like i'm a mix. i'm german, indian and dutch

with a little swede. but i am pure american. host: ok. gail is in oceanside, new york on our line for republicans. morning. caller: hi, i have two comments. the first is that last week, there was a big news story that you didn't cover and the mainstream media didn't cover that zuckerberg actually went on and said the biden white house was making them actually delete people that were on his facebook. host: i think i have the story you are mentioning. i will read a little bit from reuters and then you can follow-up with your. give me a moment. he is the headline -- here is the headline. zuckerberg says biden administration pressured meta to censor covid-19 content.

he said the biden administration pressured them to censor covid-19 content during the pandemic, referring to white house requests to take down miss information about the coronavirus and vaccines. in a letter dated ckerst wrote d he regretted not speaking up about this decision earlier as well as other decisions he made surrounding facebook and whatsapp, around removing certain content. president biden said social media platforms like facebook are killing people who are allowing misinformation about coronavirus vaccines to be posted on its platforms. gail, that's the story, you are referencing, correct? caller: i sure am. we were told to wear a mask. you didn't have to wear a mask. we were told children lost at

least a year of school which was unnecessary. they were taking down what they wanted to take down. not all of the truth. ok? my second, is the 34 counts against trump, if you pay attention, and i did, i paid attention to everything that went on. trump was not allowed to have a witness who happens to be the head in the united states of some kind of billing sequence. they told him that witness cannot go on the stand. then there was a gag order against trump. michael cohen, stormy daniels, they were allowed to talk on every tv show. his sixth commitment was violated and his first amendment was violated and i am a layperson.

just imagine when you get a really great lawyer in there. believe me. believe me, democrats. this is just to muddy the waters before the election. once the election is over, this is all going to be thrown out. and i know you won't change your mind but just remember, this is the hoax they are playing on you like joe biden. host: gail from maryland on our line -- carrie from maryland on our line from democrats. good morning. caller: yes, good morning. how are you today? host: good, thank you. caller: good. i'm an 80 plus-year-old young lady. my problem with the congress, every one of the men and some of of the women, i'll say on both sides because i don't know who votes for who. the bottom line is they are there to help pass the laws that

are supposed to be upheld in the constitution. what most people are forgetting, they are and have just erased the oath. they put their hand on the bible and they took an oath to serve and protect this country from all wards and those within. i don't know what people are thinking. we wouldn't be in the place we are in if the people, the senators and the reppo synonyms, most of them republicans, who would not stand up -- representatives, most of them republicans, who would not stand up and say trump lost the election. it's just ridiculous. we are bringing up children on live. -- on lies. i don't know if the parents went to school and learned anything

but it is truly ridiculous the way they have let this country just go to pot. host: let's hear from maria on our line for independents. >> good morning. i have a couple of points to make. the first one is trump didn't agree to this immigration proposal. [indiscernible] i wanted to know whether or not anybody in washington, and i mean anyone who took an oath to the constitution realizes that when they knew that president biden was impaired and they did nothing about it, that is effectively treason to the people of the united states. i also am going to say, with

president trump, his alliance with elon musk disturbs me. in the new york times two years ago, they had a picture of him with a satanic t-shirt. there are a lot of unexplored things. i wanted to say also, when will the americans decide to get real representatives of the people? thomas jefferson said we need a revolution. what are our chances now to get the established -- out of the way and stop the foreign entanglements? my next question is why can't we get reparation money to our citizens that we have been sending to israel for so long and all we get is hardy for this. thank you very much. host: donna is in north carolina

on our line for republicans. good morning. caller: good morning. i just want to say that they are trying to keep rfk on the ballots in north carolina. and he actually is uniting with it i would encourage people to vote trump. thank you -- uniting with trump. i would encourage people to vote for trump. thank you. host: vivian is on our line for democrats. good morning. caller: i hope you can understand me. i've had surgery. good morning, everybody. i would like to make a few comments and try to get them in quick. trump has been convicted of felonies by the people who swore to tell the truth on the jury. of rape, defiling the

government. letting people die for not telling the truth about covid. him not wearing the mask and he said drink bleach. he's been accused of rape. how he did those women in georgia. he threatened them about the vote counts. this man is full of evil. he is on putin's side. he wants to cut out medicare, medicaid and take away food from children. talk about people with disability. i lived in the jim crow era. i'm 73. we don't want to go back. america, wake up. i'm glad we have some decent republicans who feel what this man is doing is wrong.

what can we teach our young men about a rape eurpls? host: robert is in close terror field, virginia on the line for independents. host: i'm very upset about the thing with elon musk. he is not american and he puts millions of dollars in the hands of donald trump. i thought that was illegal to have other countries involve themselves with money. how is getting away with it? another thing i would like to maybe investigate the attempted assassination of him because i really don't think he got shot in the ear. i think when he fell down somebody nicked his ear -- host: robert, very quickly phufpbg is a u.s. citizen and as such he can contribute to

political campaign and all the evidence points to that trump was shot adds injured at his rally. host: well why did the bullet that passed him not hurt somebody on the other side it was on a down trajectory. they never come close to saying they recovered the bullet. and if musk is a u.s. citizen he was not born here so money can buy you anything. y'all have a good day. host: this is from mobile, alabama, for democrats. >> biden inherited the trump administration and trump spent over $2.2 trillion and he has taken this country over and under and has put us in a country that is pretty much

really in a worse place and he is by far the most worst president we ever had. talk about crimes, he is causing the crimes we have had the last 3 1/2 years the poor of the country. he brought in the white supremacists telling the presidents to stand by. that is just ridiculous. all of the things that he has done from raping, killing, telling people to drink bleach and some people did drink it. and he helped kill over a million people because of him did not do the right thing to take care of us as a commander

in chief. if he had done the right thing we would not be in the devastation and he calls everything a hoax, it is a hoax to him because he is crazy. he should have never been the president of the united states or over anybody. he shouldn't have a family because he would sell his own mother just to get to where he is today because he's a crook. host: riley is in maryland on our line for independence. good morning, riley. >> my name is riley tyler i'm 13 and i'm independent. i'm on the end side because the democrats have done nothing for our people. host: why do you think that, riley? >> i think because they have lied to us for over 100 years and done nothing for us and get

everybody privileges except us. they let all these people come across the border and we have gotten nothing but they get everything. host: we don't often get people your age calling in. what do you think are the most issues coming up in the election? >> i think the issues most important is stop people coming from over the border. host: ok. why is that the most important issue to you? is there something that is concerning you in particular? >> because they are taking the medicals away from us. host: in connection is greg in tallahassee, florida, on the line for republicans. good morning, greg. >> thank you c-span and for this open forum because i have a special message for our last

13-year-old caller. when she votes for a president that president will not be subject to the zero factors. for anybody who doesn't remember that it began with abraham lincoln, continued through j.f.k. where a president with an election in zero died in office and the two other ronald reagan 1980 and george w. bush had near misses. john hinckley for ronald reagan and united 93 crashing into the pennsylvania fields. so let us hope that president joe biden leaves office in february of 2025 and survives. host: i think that this may not be familiar it folks. the zero factor is this idea that presidents that were

elected in an office in a year that ends in zero have a higher risk of dying, correct? >> correct. i hope that doesn't happen to joe biden. host: michelle is in louisiana on the line for democrats. >> i just listen to people i feel like a lot of things people say you can tell who is learning to fox news for sure. host: ok. virgil is in north carolina on the line for independences. good morning, virgil. >> i'm so glad i ran across this on tv. watching the previous show and watching you, i'm shocked as an

american, i'm 67 so i have seen a lot of elections. i'm shocked at the misinformation we see. it breaks my heart that so many people are going to be making decisions about this election on thoughts and things that are not true t. is shocking. i register independent in north carolina as a strategy because it allows me to vote in either primary, ear the republican or democratic primary. i usually go to vote in the democratic primary but i will do the republican if i need to see who i want to move forwards for the presidency. but i pray for our country that it election -- i want kamala to be elected. that democratic convention gave me such hope. i haven't felt that for so long

just the angst in the country that the two parties try to make us fight amongst each other instead of realizing we are all americans. but any way, thank you for taking my call. i really don't have a question. i just want to say everybody research, deal with the truth. host: marian is from california on the line for republicans. caller: thank you for c-span. i would like to make a few comments about kamala. she was the most left swing senator in the senate based on her voting records. not only can she not really speak without a tremendously prompter -- tell prompter. she talks like she's not been in

v.p. the last three years but the media are whit washing her views. being fine clips of her saying all of these. host: very quickly you referenced her records on as you said she is on the ideological spectrum. the ideology leadership chart and this is sort of the left to right of political spectrum and she is over here toward the very far left. go ahead. caller: exactly right. even to the left of bernie sanders and that is based on her voting records. so the media is trying to white wash it as though she is moderate. she's been the border czar for 3 1/2 years. we have wide open borders. we are letting criminals in who

commit murders and rapes. all the illegals are burdening our resources, getting free husbanding, healthcare, free section changes in -- sex changes. she wants to eliminate private health insurance and have a mandatory buy back for guns. she wants cash-free billeting dangerous criminals out of jail like the revolving door. she is for defending the police -- excuse me -- reimagining the police. she compared ice to the k.k.k. she wants to ban fracking which means higher energy prices. she wants mandates it drive electrical vehicles. she promised over and over on day one she is going to retail

trump's tax cuts. they were 17% to 26% nor people maintaining under $50,000. she proudly said she was the last person in the room when biden was residing over the catastrophe in afghanistanle gentleman if you would finish up because we want to get a couple support folks. caller: she is hoping to keep people stupid enough who won't look at her record. she will not put her policies on her website. she won't hardly do an interview, hold a rest conference. this is not a person that deserves a promotion. host: malloy from texas. caller: my main concern is how

can people want to put a man in office who says doesn't ask god for forgiveness? and they want to separate state from church. ok, if that is the case when you are sworn into office you have to take the bible to swear to hold up the constitution and overtimes that you promise to the people. they are worshiping a false idol. host: up next we will have anita mcbride who served as the chief of staff to first ladies laura bush. seal be here to talk about the role of political spouses in the white house and on the 2024 campaign trail. we will be right back.

>> tonight on q&a former rhode island democratic congressman patrick kennedy talks about americans who struggle with mental illness and role family members play in their care. >> in my case of my mother my brother and i had to get guardsian ship. we saved her life. my kids never met my father who died before they were born. but they got it meet my mom and that was because my brother and sister and i went to court to get guardianship over our mother to keep her from killing herself. she was so happy -- at the time she was not happy but she ended up being so grateful that she was able to make it to the other side because we intervened. >> patrick kennedy proceed files in mental health coverage on

q&a. you can listen to q&a and all of our podcasts on the free c-span app. >> book tv every sunday an c-span 2 features leading authors with latest nonfiction books. at 2:00 p.m. steven hale traces the lives on dealt row at the security in tenneee in his book death row welcomes you. 7:00 p.m. tulsi gabbert says why she left the democratic party and became an independent. then beginning 8:00 p.m. we wl feature books fm the january 6. together with pieces published in the aftermath then a slain

air force ashley babbitt. watch book tv every sunday and fine a schedule on the program guide or watch online any time at booktv.org. >> watch the pressure debate simulcast on the c-span networks tuesday september 10 as the candidates go heads to heads for their first debate. coverage begins with a preview show at 8:00 adds then the debate at 9:00 p.m. the abc news presidential debate simulcast live tuesday september 10 on the c-span network, your unfiltered view of politics powered by cable. >> "washington journal" continues. host: welcome back.

we are joined by anita mcbride the director of the first ladies initiative at american university. welcome to "washington journal." what is the first ladies' initiative. guest: is the only university in the country that has an tpheubt active like this that promotes the stories and legacies and contributions of american first ladies. it was an idea of the president of american university in 2010 who approached me after i leave the white house having served as laura bush's chief of staff and worked in other white house presidential strayses and said we have been watching with growing interest how the first's role was so influential on policy and asked if i could come up with a program which started with a conference series and which continues in partnership with presidential libraries and white house historical

association, archives, library of congress and others interested in the topic. so it has grown from that to a series of nationwide conferences on the topic of first ladies. host: why is it important to think of the role of first ladies when we talk about the presidency and history of the presidency? guest: that is the exact reason we talk about first ladies and their contribution to the american presidency and american history. the pointing if we talk about inclusive history how could we not include the contributions of these women and what they have done to not only support the president but take on issues of their own. host: many of us see first ladies only from public appearances. you have had a rare experience working behind the scenes with laura bush. what do people not see about the work of first ladies? guest: it is important to

remember they are families first and foremost and when you are in politics and tensions and pressure that come with having a public role while you are also trying to provide a sanctuary behind the scenes and being responsive to the demands of the schedule knowing you have an opportunity to use this platform to not only support the work of the administration but do things that are of interest to you that you think can contribute to the country while balancing a family life and all of the responsibilities that come with that as well. host: you have co-written two books on first ladies, remember the first ladies the legacies of america's history making women in january of this year. and u.s. first ladies making history and leaving legacies in 2023. quick turnaround by the way.

guest: a lot of same kept but presented differently. >> how has the influence and experience of first ladies evolved over time? guest: that is exactly what is the premise of the books. particularly the one, the second one you mentioned u.s. first ladies making history is a college textbook. it is the first ever in 2023, the first time we have a texts book on this -- a textbook which we tested at a number of universities and colleges and student response was the same. why did we never learn there before? so, we knew we were filling a gap but we are part of a research association called first ladies association for research and education and -- which was only fountained in 2021 and affiliated with american university. so the idea behind the first book was to really start getting

this into schools a teach the history of first ladies adds various contributions they have made on our public policy, on our diplomacy, and also on our politics. host: there was so much discussion in the leads up to president biden deciding not to run for re-election about the role of jill biden in his choice and what extent she protected him and could be the only voice he would listen to in the room. you wrote about this for u.s. news, don't underestimate's jill biden's influence on the president. to what extent do you think she protected him or played a role in the decision he eventually made? guest: well, again, the important points dr. biden said this, it is the president's decision. ultimately it is the president's decision. but the role behind the scenes

to support that decision, to support all of this, the different equities that you have to consider in making such a monumental decision about this. standing behind him, ultimately that is the most important role that she played. and playing devil's advocate, telling him sometimes the things that other advisors would never say. but she can be very honest. in terms of protection, of course there is no one that cares more about the president than the president's spouse. how they are remembered in history, how they are treated by the public and media. these are all things that she would be, as any pressure spouse, would be worried about many host: we will be taking your calls and questions about first ladies or potentially first spouses coming up.

we have regional lines, if you are in the eastern zone, 1-202-748-8200, in mountain or pack time zone, 1-202-748-8201. i mentioned the potential for spouses. kamala harris's role would change it. guest: we said what if bill clinton was the first gentleman. he was a former president. it would have added complications but i think we start with the second gentleman and first female vice president. doug imhoff has carved out a

place with tpheubt activist he cared about and worked on for the administration, anti-semiticism at the top. works outside the home as a professor at georgetown university law center. then what he considers to be his most important role as second gentleman is a very traditional response to support the vice president. so i think that tells all of us no matter who is the occupant of the role that is the first and foremost responsibility. host: what do you make of mrs. trump's role. irk i think this is -- a couple

of things are important to remember. i think mrs. trump has shown us from 2015 when they first got in, she will do to her own way and not be defined by expectations others have of her. that is one thing to remember about the first lady role or presidential spouse role. it has no position description. each occupant gets to do what they want with the job or not. it comes with a great platform and i think we do have expectations as americans that do use that privileged opportunity for the short time you have it to do something with it. but she always says she won't be defined by others' expectations. she did in 2016 came out on the campaign trail at times when it was the most important for donald trump when he was at risk of losing the presidency, losing

the election typically after the access hollywood tapes. so, i think -- 10 thus far has been even less visible than the last time, even in 2020 when we were in a covid period of time where there are not many public events she did more then. and recently just posted a twitter with a picture of new york the view from trump tower in new york saying she is home and happy to be home. host: what does that mean? guest: that she is going to continue to do what she's always done, do to her way and not be defined by others. host: let's get some questions. shelby in bluff city, tennessee. good morning, shelly. caller: i want to speak on jill

biden. as a spouse, it is difficult for you to also accept [inaudible] in your spouse and mr. biden, president, he still wanted to be able to get things that needed to be done, even though he may have started to have some decline. it is hard to accept -- i know specifically also when i had health issues and had to give up, basically my whole line of work. i felt like i lost my identity. that is very hard to accept. guest: you are absolutely right

on that. it is a great sensitivity that we saw to that in this very difficult decision that the president had to make and the first lady had to accept. i think that you make an important point. president biden said himself he still felt he had so much to do and we go to while he was wrestle welcome it differ decision to accept what pressures were around him both from his party, other political leaders and media that he should get out. he was wrestling with that realization and very difficult decision that he had to make in bringing home american hostages that were being held jeff sea -- overseas. it skwrupdz scores we cannot fully accept the pressures on the presently shoulders day in

and day out 24-7 and the role the spouse has to play to support that. host: james is in west virginia. good morning, james. caller: hello. i'm from west virginia. i just wanted to talk about nancy reagan. she was the first lady president in the united states because she was in charge and ronald reagan, listened to everything he said. he would never have been in there if not for her. so these people that call in and say -- host: let's let anita talk about that. guest: you make an important

point about nancy reagan that even president reagan, i think, would admit to. she was his strongest partner in running for governor, running for president. and she did have a -- she actually had better probably political antenna sometimes than president reagan did. but i will say this in mrs. reagan's defense. she wrote about this in the memoirs. after the attempted assassination on his life she never fully recovered from that. she wrote about lying in bed with him at night and looking at him and never getting those images outs of her mind of what happened march 30, fine 81. and that -- 1981 and that did cloud some of the way he helped her manage particularly his schedule. but there's to doubt they were a partnership and they were a

team. host: keith is in sun city west arizona. good morning, keith. hi, keith. are you there? caller: yes, i'm here. host: go ahead the caller: i have a comment on joe biden, spouse in tow and i think it is up to spouses to follow their spouse when they are not competent to do their job and i think president biden obviously was doing exactly that. and i find it harm for our country that that was allowed to go on two years and we could see it is happening. host: was that her responsibility? guest: i think it is in part her responsibility. i think you have a point and i think this is something that she will be remembered for and criticized for fairly or

unfairly. she is the closest person to the president. she sees him morning, noon and night and i think people expect outside of any other advisor that works for the president the family knows more than anyone else. i think that we have had one other substance in our country where this was more severe when president wilson will a stroke and for 17 months mrs. aoed difficulty wilson, did edith wilson kept people away from him and country didn't know the severity. she really could be considered the first woman president and not very good ways. not even his vice president saw him in that time, his cabinet didn't see him except maybe once. so we would never have that kind of situation again of course.

but, to your point, this is something that dr. biden, jill biden, will need to recognize that she may be remembered for at the ends. host: the phone lines if you have a question would be eastern and central time zones 202-748-8,000 and pound and pacific 202-438-8001. another question from x on melania trumpf you could talk about her contribution and legacy. guest: it is important to remember that she came into it political life and role having only been an american citizen for 10 years. our second foreign born first lady. a life of politics is not what i think she was planning for. and so, yet, when she became

first lady she did some things that actually set some precedence. when she said she was not going to move into the white house right away which was a statement she made through social media just a couple weeks after the election, that set a precedent. people ask questions that does see really want to be here. what will that mean for the office of first lady. but our view as people who really study first ladies she established a tkprepts of already own and made it easier for future occupants who might want to do the same thing, not move to the white house right away. she did launch an initiative on cyber bullying and how children can use social media in a more healthy way that she was criticized for because of the rhetoric on her husband in social media. but that do not diminish the fact the issue is important and

it is important for children. i think that the other thing i will say is i'm on the board of the white house historical association, we have work with every first lady since jackie canada founded the association. and mrs. trump did have great interest in protecting the history, the integrity, the architecture, the art collections and beauty of the house. host: bill is in northbrook, illinois. caller: good morning. a call or two calls prior to me made a lot of my points but i think the first lady, we have revered the for ladies but if you speak you have a duty of honesty. i don't think mrs. biden had a duty to really say anything about her husband's condition. but if she was going to speak, i

think that there's a duty of frankness and honesty that was breached. i would seen r even -- i would even say in this periods between now and january 20, i think the same duty applies. in other words, you could raise the same questions about what his physical condition is. and if you are going to speak you have to speak honestly and frankly. that is my only comment. thank you. guest: i think the american people want frankness and honesty in their elected leaders adds it is important to remember this role is not the elected position, the president is. but yet we do, i think, as americans want that kind of frankness and transparency in our leaders. host: tammy in durham -- i think

we have tammy on the line. is that you? caller: good morning. thank you for the segment today. i'm interested that michelle obama's name has not been raised yet and i would like to hear your guest's comments on her role and how that might be changing for first ladies. guest: thank you for the question. actually in our books michelle obama is one of three first ladies that gets a chapter of her own. eleanor roosevelt the other and most activist first lady in history and ladies bird johnson who renewed the role activism and mrs. obama for a lot of reasons including first african-american first ladies and that was an efficient solution. she felt the responsibility and burden of that quite frankly and was someone new to politics, a

little reluctant to be engaged in politics but became an incredible political actor of her own and made enormous contributions and connections with american people, particularly young people. this was the first presidency that was fully social media oriented. she was the first to have social media accounts and used it in an incredible way. in her post white house life she is remained very active in writing books that get tremendous attention. you saw her at the democratic convention how she was received there, the strong messages that she's making for someone who came into politics reluctancely she has a great political astuteness and used it in a very strong which. she also, though, has engaged in a lot of enterprises of her own

and she and her husband together with their work with netflix and the documentaries and kenta they are providing that they think is important for the american public. >> kerry is in albany, georgia. caller: my question it sounds like mrs. anita mcbride has been a little negative toward jill biden and favoring melania trump. to my understanding, jill supported her husband in every way and it is not her response to diagnose his condition. and why would she want her husband to go out and be embarrassed if she few he had a condition that the public needed to toe about.

guest: i -- to know about. guest: i appreciate you made that comments because i want to be very clear i'm very much a fan of dr. biden, how she has used her position as first lady. interestingly enough she wrote the forwards for our textbook which we were grateful for. one she is the first lady and understands this role. secondly she is a college proffer and knew the value of getting the history of first ladies adds their contributions and sacrifices they have to make, the opportunities they have, getting it into the classroom. she is a very active first lady. i think she's been to almost all 50 states, so many countries. and what is so interesting when we interviewed her for the book and i asked her what would you -- how do you envision the role, this was early on in her tenure.

she said i want to be remembered as a first lady who was first lady for all americans, not just the ones that voted for joe. that is a really wonderful statement for a first lady to make. also, something that is very unique to the presidential spouse to be able to do that. so, i think she deserves great credit for her activism in this role. and also broke ground, too, by being a college proffer and working outside the white house, outside the home. she balanced a lot. host: i imagine we will likely see jill biden tomorrow when president joe biden and democratic presidential candidate vice president kamala harris host a labor day campaig rally in pittsburgh which will be their sec appearance together since his decision tio

fox can watt 4:45 p.m. eastern on span, c-span now, our video app or online at c-span.org. now to kirk in brownsville, new jersey. good morning, kirk. caller: thank you for taking my call. i enjoy the civil discourse of having the call-in numbers an an area not a political area but i'm a very bold person, i think about myself a lot and -- but my wife is the most important thing in my life. so, for me to be me and then my wife to be the most important thing without me saying it out loud. so donald trump, if he had the

time how close that bullet came to his head, now why on earth -- my second marriage i'm definitely more in tuned to my significant other now to try to be a better man. he has had a few chances. and why on earth would you subject such a beautiful, bold person as melania trump to bullets? and i think that, like you said, it is very important that the prejudice that comes with the president really should be thrown on the -- shouldn't be thrown on the wife or children, which it will be. with that said, i think in melania's case she is bold in her faith, which i'm sure donald trump has more now after that

bullet whizzed by his ear. i believe that we have it keep our significant others safe and we should have more phone calls that are not in the argument column, more of the discourse. thank you so much. guest: thank you for saying that because i think this is one thing that really is a threads of connectivity for all presidential spouses from martha washington to joe biden. they worry first and foremost about the safety and security of their spouse and their families. after that assassination attempt in july mrs. trump did issue a statement i think on x that said at that moment she saw that her life and her son's life could have have been changed irrefuse kaberle.

-- irrevocably. but for families of a president this is a constant worry and it is unfortunate but it is reality. host: janice from jacksonville, arizona. caller: good morning. i want to make a comment regarding the roleed a influence of a political spouse and particularly joe biden and his wife. as far as whatever his condition is, i don't think she has any responsibility to disclose any of that. and particularly something that is medical. because she does not have a life of practicing medicines. his physician came out and said there was nothing that deterred him.

and because a person had a speech embedment does -- impedestrian want doesn't piano their mental capacity is impaired and i think people might be making a lot out of something that may not be as significant as they take. joe biden said that he decided not to run for president any more because the people didn't want him to run any more. and it is as simple as that. guest: you are right on that last point. ultimately, i think that -- and i will back up and respond to the fact of dr. biden. she definitely supported his decision to run again. she believes in her husband that he is the best person for the job. there feels so much left to -- there was so much left and she

knew how hard he was working on behalf of the country. i think what changed things in many people's minds was june 27 at the debate. and then the pressures around him as i mentioned earlier not only from the public but from political leaders of his own party just made it very difficult for him to make any other decision than what he did. >> ray is in fatal, fayetteville, north carolina. good morning, ray. caller: good morning. nobody is talking about the big elephant in the room. we all know ronald reagan will -- had alzheimer's or one of those diseases that impairs the minds nobody is looking at donald trump's family. the family has a history of having alzheimer's or dementia. nobody is talking about that. you understand? yet like the lady said you want

to speak negative of jill biden. let's talk about donald trump. >> the conversation is about first ladies. did you have a question about first ladies? caller: it is about first ladies. why do you think personnel -- melania don't want to be soon with donald trump. she is knows something is wrong. let's talk about that. guest: well, as we said earlier, she has done very little on the campaign. i think we have seen her once at the republican convention. i think that is a decision she's made early on and frankly consistently that she will be deployed for the campaign when she wants to be and not we others tell her to. i think in terms of her knowing what her husband's physical

condition or cognitive condition should be, i think just as we said with dr. biden, no one knows the president or spouse better than his wife. so, what responsibility she has technically now as a private citizen because she is a private citizen, that is really up to her to how she would -- like it was for dr. biden -- to be public about whatever condition he may have or not. i'm not suggesting that he does because what you just said about his family, about mr. trump's family, i don't know anything about that. host: david is in louisville, kentucky. good morning, david. caller: good morning, how are you? host: good morning. caller: i have a question for the host but i have a question for your guest first.

when it comes to first ladies can you touch on the first ladies who had husbands as presidents and their infidelities and who besides clinton and perhaps kennedys, what presidents wives had to deal with during inif he dellity. and for the -- infidelity. and for host, i wish we people call in and say trump is a convicted rapist, could you please tell people he was not a convicted rapist instead of letting them go on and say no he was not convicted of rape, he was charged with harassment. host: we do our best but we can't catch everything. thank you for the comment. guest: i think the question of other presidents an first ladies -- and first ladies dealing with infidelity. being we knew of the raurpl --

rumor with warren harding and francis and with franklin roosevelt and eleanorment it was devastating when she discovered her husband had an affair. and was going to divorce him. his mother stepped in, stare delano roosevelt had an outside influence on her son, and basically told him he needed to stop it because if they were to get divorced his public career would be over. because the stigma around being unfaithful or infidelities was very strong, as it should be. so she really suffered with that. eleanor really suffered with the fact that her husband cheated on her. and when he died, you know, his,

the woman that he had had a relationship with was the person who was with him. so, eleanor lived with that throughout much of her marriage. it is why see also carved out such an active role of her own and is our most activist first lady. she found ways to use the role of first lady, which she didn't want, she thought it with stifle her but she took that pain and used it in a remarkable way. host: anthony is in staten island, new york. caller: good morning. i would like to bring up -- i was always a big fan of the bushes, and i understand the issues they had with donald trump especially when donald went after jeb bush.

but with regards to melania i would surprised that no one spoke you for laura bush which i thought was unfair. she got attacked constantly and we never heard anything from maybe a former first lady to jump in there to donor her even if they -- defend her. back it joe biden she knew her husband four years ago shouldn't have been president lets alone the last six months. all you had to do is watch joe the last six months and everybody knows he wasn't fit to be president. thank you. have a great day. guest: i'm not sure i can add much to what we have already discussed about joe biden and,

every presidential spouse being the closest person to the president knowing things that we can't possibly know including how hard they are working and really believing in them that they are the right person for the job, rightly or wrongly, it is a decision they make and they may be remembered for it. it is a chance you take in public life. why we have not spoken were about the bushes, there are multiple bush first ladies. can you talk about them? guest: and i will responds to the caller's point. there is a sort of bond amongst first ladies and even when there are some trying times. i do know when barbara bush died in 2018 and mrs. trump was very kind to the bush family. they were staying at -- there is we george h.w. bush died six

months and the family was staying at blair house and mrs. trump invited laura bush to bring some of the grandchildren, the bush grandchildren, to the white house to see the portraits of their grand father because of course that is a tradition that the portraits are draped in black and a memoriam sign is there and respectful for the public to see as they pass by on the tours. so, they have had a couple of uncounters together. all the first ladies have. we generally see them at funerals or presidential library openings, sometimes there are other circumstances. i think that only they can really understand and appreciate what each of then goes through in this job. and fairly or unfairly can be criticized for not coming to

their public defense. i will leave that to them. host: john is in el cajon, california. caller: good morning. the previous caller kinds of touched on some things. the differences on how melania trump has been treated compared to the way the system treated michelle obama and jill biden. we obama came in his wife will zero sense of any kind of style or artistic ability. i still remember her inauguration dress. the system rushed to her assistance. she had the best dress makers, best artistic people. everybody surrounded her to prop her up. but when melania came into the same role she was a foreigner, she spoke funny only been a citizen 10 years anding she did was wrong -- and everything she

did was wrong. she redoes the can garden and suddenly it was anti-semitic. when jill biden gets in office, everything she did was correct. the whole system stood behind her and told her what a great job she is doing and -- >> we are running a little low on time and i want to allow mrs. mcbride to respond. guest: fair enough and that is way to responds to you when you are married to a controversial or consequential figure unfortunately some of that criticism spills over on to you. then you may are not given as fair a shake as you deserve. i think to your point mrs. trump coming two politics after only 10 years being an american

citizen delivers a very, actually a lovely m.v.p. at the 2016 convention and was criticized heavily for that. and never really -- i recognized this as a first lady staff person that the fault was really on the staff of the campaign. host: you are talking about the criticism -- guest: plagiarism or having used language from mrs. obama's 2008 speech at mrs. trump's speech in 2016. and the unfair criticism really star started then. the christmas decorations were crazy ed. the rose gardens needed to be redone and ripped up, pathways for disabled needed to be in.

better irrigation. she was willing to do it. it is something where i think as an example of where some of the unfair criticism was directed at her. host: last caller for this diana quickly if you don't mind asking the question from ddeloitte, wisconsin. caller: i have a question for black america then -- host: we are almost out of time so get to the question about the first ladies. caller: my question to black american is i want to know when america will have a place for black people? >> we will have to ends it there but i want to thank you director of the first ladies initiates active at american university. thank you so much. guest: thank you for the opportunity. host: thank you to everyone who called on "washington journal." we appreciate your calls. we be back tomorrow with another

edition of "washington journal" at 7:00 a.m. eastern. have a great day.